Scott Douglas Cunningham (June 27, 1956 – March 28, 1993) was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

and various other alternative religious subjects. His work ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'', is one of the most successful books on Wicca ever published; he was a friend of notable occultists and Wiccans such as Raymond Buckland, and was a member of the Serpent Stone Family, and received his Third Degree Initiation as a member of that coven.

Early life

Scott Cunningham was born at the William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, USA, the second son of Chester Grant Cunningham and Rose Marie Wilhoit Cunningham. The family moved to San Diego, California in the fall of 1959 due to Rose Marie's health problems. The doctors in Royal Oak declared the mild climate in San Diego ideal for her. Outside of many trips to Hawaii, Cunningham lived in San Diego all his life. Cunningham had one older brother, Greg, and a younger sister, Christine. Scott was openly gay for much of his life. He studied creative writing at San Diego State University, where he enrolled in 1978. After two years in the program, however, he had more published works than several of his professors and dropped out of the university to write full-time. During this period he had as a roommate, magical author

Donald Michael Kraig Donald Michael Kraig (March 28, 1951 – March 17, 2014) was an American occult author and practitioner of ceremonial magic. Kraig published six books, including his 1988 introduction to ceremonial magic, ''Modern Magick''. He was also an editor for ...

and often socialized with witchcraft author Raymond Buckland, who was also living in San Diego at the time.

Wicca

In 1980, Cunningham began initiate training under

Raven Grimassi Gary Charles Erbe (April 12, 1951 – March 10, 2019), known as Raven Grimassi, was an American author of over 20 books, including topics on Wicca, Stregheria, witchcraft and neo-paganism. He popularized Stregheria, the religious practice of witch ...

and remained as a first-degree initiate until 1982 when he left the tradition to pursue a solo practice of witchcraft. Cunningham practiced a fairly basic interpretation of

, often worshiping alone, though his book series for solitaries describes several instances in which he worshiped with friends and teachers. He also believed that Wicca, which had been a closed tradition since the 1950s, should become more open to newcomers. Cunningham was also drawn to Huna and a range of

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

movements and concepts that influenced and colored his spirituality.

Death

In 1983, Scott Cunningham was diagnosed with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

, which he successfully overcame. In 1990, while on a speaking tour in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, he suddenly fell ill and was diagnosed with

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-related

cryptococcal meningitis Cryptococcosis is a potentially fatal mycosis, fungal infection of mainly the lungs, presenting as a pneumonia, and brain, where it appears as a meningitis. Cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest pain and fever are seen when the ...

. He suffered from several infections and died in March 1993. He was 36.

Published works

Books

*1980 – ''Shadow of Love'' (fiction) *1982 – ''Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise'' () *1983 – ''Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic'' () *1985 – ''Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs'' () *1987 – ''The Magical Household: Spells and Rituals for the Home'' (with David Harrington) () *1987 – ''Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem, and Metal Magic'' () *1988 – ''The Truth About Witchcraft Today'' () *1988 – ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' () *1989 – ''The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews'' () *1989 – ''Magical Aromatherapy: The Power of Scent'' () *1991 – ''Earth, Air, Fire, and Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic'' () *1991 – ''The Magic in Food'' () *1993 – ''Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen'' () *1993 – ''Divination For Beginners'' () *1993 – ''Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner'' () *1993 – ''Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects'' (with David Harrington) () *1993 – ''The Truth About Herb Magic'' () *1994 – ''The Truth About Witchcraft'' () *1995 – ''Hawaiian Magic and Spirituality'' () *1997 – ''Pocket Guide to Fortune Telling'' () *1999 – ''Dreaming the Divine: Techniques for Sacred Sleep'' () *2009 – ''Cunningham's Book of Shadows: The Path of An American Traditionalist'' () – A rediscovered manuscript written by Cunningham in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Art by Robin Wood

Several of Scott's books include black and white drawings and (in some editions) cover art by the Wiccan artist Robin Wood. Among these books are ''Magical Herbalism'', ''Earth Power'', and ''Earth, Air, Fire, Water''.

Videos

*''Herb Magic'' ()

Film references

''Never Say Macbeth'', a 2007 film, is based around a group of actors who battle the curse of

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

by using Scott's book, ''Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner''. This film was released on DVD by Vanguard Cinema in August 2008.

Notes

References

*Several of Scott's own books contain autobiographical text. * *

Rosemary Ellen Guiley Rosemary Ellen Guiley (July 8, 1950 - July 18, 2019) was an American writer on topics related to spirituality, the occult, and the paranormal. She was also a radio show host, a certified hypnotist, a board director of the "National Museum of M ...

, ''The Encyclopedia of Witches & Witchcraft''. *Raven Grimassi, ''Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft''.

External links

Scott Cunningham
at Llewellyn Worldwide (his publisher) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Scott 1956 births 1993 deaths American occult writers American Wiccans American LGBT writers AIDS-related deaths in Massachusetts LGBT Wiccans 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Wiccan writers New Age writers 20th-century American LGBT people